Trip Report -- Stayed 20/11/16 - 25/11/16

Arrival:
Large airy lobby with library style decor and nearby R-Bar.
As platinum member, I was upgraded to club-level city view room with "automatic" lounge access.
Offered small sheet of paper allowing us to select our platinum arrival gift, which if you selected a food amenity, noted it would arrive to your room within 30 minutes. My wife and I, fighting jet lag, knew we wanted to go explore and eat dinner out right away, so I opted for the 500 points.
We were also given some "small gifts," including a painted wood and carved keychain and a metal decorated bookmark. While small and kitchy, we both felt it added to the charm of just arriving to China and appreciated the gifts.

Room:
We were upgraded to club level city view, 16th floor. Room was excellent, we had small entry way with large closet to the right. To the left, you'd enter our room, felt very large. Great views of the city and distant skyscrapers. Small lounging chair and desk we great near window with automatic push-button shades. Large TV we never watched. Bed was very comfortable with firm and soft pillow options.
Bathroom was a highlight with separate standing shower and soaking tub, both with city views as well, a small touch that I loved. No worries if you're more modest, there was a automatic privacy screen you could also bring down. Argus brand toiletries, which were fine. Also stocked with mineral salts which were nice for using in the soaking tub.

Lounge:
Highlight of the hotel for sure. Fantastic views of the Forbidden City. Breakfast had a GREAT spread of various western and Chinese foods with the option of made to order omelettes, eggs and waffles. They had Nai lao (Chinese Lassi if you will) and Congi daily along with various other local foods. We found this was a great way to start our day before walking all over Beijing.
They also served "afternoon tea" which we never quite made it to and a "happy hour" with booze and hors d'oeuvres that were plentiful enough to make a dinner out of if you were so inclined. The hors d'oeuvres were good, though breakfast quality felt better.
Nice bar selection, fresh juices and soft drinks always available.
Had a espresso machine which made decent coffee.

Staff:
Everyone was very friendly and polite. Everyone we interacted with genuinely was looking to make our stay more enjoyable. We were always greeted with smiles and hellos as we walked in and out of the hotel. While English was at times limited, overall, with slight patience, any question we had, we were able to get an answer to. Lounge staff was especially wonderful.

Pool/Spa:
Located in the basement, pool and hot tub are located in public area. Lovely pool and great hot tub. Sauna and steam room located in individual locker rooms. Locker rooms well stocked with ice/water. Lockers given to you with flip flops and towel.

Location:
We found the location to be excellent. There were two subway stops within a 10-15 minute walk (Dongsi & Dengshikou) and the Beijing Subway is VERY easy to navigate. Cab rides to many of the tourist sites were also relatively cheap (20-40 RMB). Wangfujing is a major shopping area with western style malls nearby, but also a lovely night market for shopping and food.

Minor Negatives:
My wife and I generally like it cold when we sleep. We had set the thermostat for 19.5, though the room never seemed to get colder then 21. Regardless, it was still very comfortable to sleep and may have had to do with the fact that it was -1 outside.
The wifi was generally reliable and speedy -- we were able to smoothly use our netflix. That said, twice there were periods of wifi outages, that both spontaneously resolved.

Overall:
The hotel exceeded our expectations and we had a great time and enjoyed spending time in our hotel. I would highly recommended this hotel if your were traveling to Beijing.